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During their careers, John Jaso has been a better hitter than Garret Jones.

Name

PA

BB%

K%

ISO

BABIP

Garrett Jones

2,089

9%

20%

0.207

0.288

John Jaso

1,048

13%

12%

0.139

0.276

Here, you see why. Jaso’s high walk/low strikeout combination offsets the difference in power.

Name

2013

2013 Salary Estimate

FA year

Garrett Jones

31

4.4M

2014

John Jaso

29

1.6M

2015

And, finally, the vitals. Jaso is younger, cheaper, and under team control for one more year.

Oh yeah – he can also catch. The idea of swapping John Jaso for Garrett Jones is so ridiculous on its face that you should just reject it out of hand. The idea of throwing in additional value to make the Jaso/Jones swap is beyond laughable. There’s no reason to think that this was ever seriously discussed.

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Comments

26 Responses to “Garrett Jones < John Jaso”

justinh on
December 2nd, 2012 11:12 pm

Lol. I was waiting for this! After reading Baker’s post on the M’s interst in Garrett Jones I did my own bit of research to see if I was correct in thinking this is a bad idea. And no doubt I think it is a bad idea to trade Jaso, Smoak, and Noesi for Jones and Hannrahan. We would be selling extremely low on Smoak and Noesi, and giving up a guy who can do everything Jones can plus catch. Oh and the fact that Jones and Hannrahan will make over $10 million next year!

I am open to dealing Jaso at some point later in the year to sell high with the right return, but Zunino IS NOT going to make the club out of spring training as he just needs some more seasoning behind the dish.

I would guess Geoff certainly didn’t hear this from anyone connected with the Mariners because I cannot see them trading Jaso at this point unless it was a no-brainer.

bavasiisgarbage on
December 2nd, 2012 11:15 pm

it only makes sense to those idiots who think jaso is a back-up…

Thirteen on
December 2nd, 2012 11:53 pm

Dave–you switched Jaso’s age and Jones’ age in the table.

I like Jones as a trade option but not at the cost of anyone who has actually proven to be good at hitting.

SeattleNative57 on
December 3rd, 2012 12:08 am

Thank gawd you’ve expressed yourself so clearly on this and informed GMZ so that we won’t have to concern ourselves with it any longer. Phew! That’s a relief.

SeattleNative57 on
December 3rd, 2012 12:20 am

The good thing about trade negotiations is that they don’t always end the way they start. There are certainly more ways than one to get a deal done. Jones is certainly an upgrade to Smoak and he can platoon in RF, another upgrade to that black hole. Jaso may not be the right piece, but Smoak and Noesi would be welcome departures for whatever they bring in return.

GLS on
December 3rd, 2012 1:05 am

Not a big fan of giving up Jaso and I’m not sure why we need Hanrahan in the deal. A lesser deal for Jones makes sense, but let’s leave Jaso out of it.

Typical Idiot Fan on
December 3rd, 2012 1:07 am

Jesus, you scared the piss out of me. I hadn’t heard anything about Jaso or Jones being discussed in trades yet. Since this was my first piece of info on it, I thought it was already a done deal and you were bringing this up to voice your displeasure.

Don’t do that to me!

maqman on
December 3rd, 2012 2:08 am

Only Baker would think this rumor could possibly have value.

PackBob on
December 3rd, 2012 3:19 am

I’d like to see what Jaso could do next year with more playing time. Baker’s main rap against Jaso was that he hit well only because of his limited use and that he can’t catch more than a couple days in a row. Not sure how you prove that without trying it.

I hope the Mariners don’t go for Napoli and look to upgrade elsewhere, mainly in the outfield. Let Jaso and a journeyman catcher handle the job until (or if) Zunino is ready. If Zunino pans out, Jaso as backup catcher, part-time DH and pinch hitter could be a good combo and still get Jaso ABs.

But for 2013, why not hold onto the guy who was your best hitter in 2012, especially for the price.

stevemotivateir on
December 3rd, 2012 4:38 am

I’d point out that Jaso’s BABIP against lefties last year was just .143. No way that number stays that low with more PA’s. Baker’s quick to point out Jone’s OPS of .833, but fails to mention Jaso’s was .850. Jaso is a better, more patient hitter.

Really hate that Jone’s HR’s were being used as a selling point, especially when comparing them to a guy who didn’t get as much playing time as he should have. It’s as if he’s implying Jaso doesn’t have any power.

Seriously though, if Jack was dumb enough to make a move like that, he’d be trading his way right out of a job.

I could see the fit regarding the M’s taking on payroll. It might also allow the Mariners to shop Whilhelmsen, which possibly make sense….also Jones as cover for Smoak is OK but seems like it is an end of winter deal when nothing else pans out. I suspect that they are just some names being thrown around. I would give them Carp and Noesi though, not Smoak or definitely not Jaso. To be honest I would love to see some cover for Smoak, but don’t want to see him shipped off to finally breakout in another uniform.

Westside guy on
December 3rd, 2012 7:44 am

Really hate that Jone’s HR’s were being used as a selling point

But that’s what made Olivo so valuable – and Jose Lopez before that.

kennyb on
December 3rd, 2012 8:06 am

Baker is only interested in the team spending more money.
Napoli has just agreed to a deal with the Red Sox according to MLB network. Phew, I might be flashing back to the Bavasi years, but I’m always happy when I see a bad fit that was linked to the team come off the board.

wabbles on
December 3rd, 2012 8:07 am

The previous regime would have made this deal in a heartbeat.

stevemotivateir on
December 3rd, 2012 8:12 am

Funny Westy! Another thing that made me laugh, was the headline of that article. Baker really sounds desperate to be the first at reporting something. I could see him being the butt of jokes among GM’s and agents. “You guys wont believe how gullible that Baker-guy is! Get this… Jaso, Smoak, and Noesi, for Jones and Hanrahan. He took the hook, line, and sinker!!”

Gibbo on
December 3rd, 2012 8:27 am

The worst part about Baker is that not only does he get paid to write that sort of stuff, but he actually believes it himself too!

e poc on
December 3rd, 2012 8:42 am

Not that it significantly alters the analysis, but Jones won’t be a FA until after 2015.

From the Pirates’ perspective, this deal doesn’t make sense either. Jaso isn’t a fit after the Martin signing, and Hanrahan should be able to bring back more of a sure thing.

ndevale on
December 3rd, 2012 9:00 am

Hi Dave!
First, what about Garrett Jones at a reasonable price? Reasonable plan B?
Second, how about a winter meetings post? Such as, we can comment on how happy we are that the BoTox signed Napoli, and that the contract makes it more likely that we sign Swisher!
Thanks!

azmariner on
December 3rd, 2012 9:44 am

To all who are bashing Baker in this thread: He may often write things we don’t agree with but in this instance, after reading his article twice, I see nothing that states he is on board with this potential trade. On the contrary. He is reporting a trade rumor. That is his job. He is a reporter. We can bash him when we have a good reason, doing it just for spite is childish. I rarely read comments left under Baker’s posts as they are usually quite moronic. I expect better on this site.

diderot on
December 3rd, 2012 10:00 am

I think the more interesting question is whether we’d do just Noesi and Smoak for Jones.
I would…but don’t see the incentive for the Pirates.

Also, with Martin, why would they want Jaso?

_Hutch_ on
December 3rd, 2012 10:58 am

Yeah I’m not huge on Carp, but I think he’s capable of a Garret Jones-esque line if he stays healthy and gets some at bats. This deal only makes some sense if the third player on the Pirates side was someone useful like Travis Snider. And with Napoli and Martin now signed and the M’s apparently not in on Pierzinski, you’ve got to think this is off the table.

SonOfZavaras on
December 3rd, 2012 12:03 pm

I saw that idea on MLBTradeRumors and thought “SOMEONE is either lazy or really trying to insult my intelligence. This deal wouldn’t make sense for either Seattle OR Pittsburgh!”

corben22 on
December 3rd, 2012 12:10 pm

I’d just like to say that I love John Jaso. He’s got intangibles that this team sorely lacks.

goalieump413 on
December 3rd, 2012 5:47 pm

I like Jaso, but I wonder if the talk is more in regard to a proven track record. Jones’ career spans 564 games over 5 years (112.8/year), while Jaso’s is 311 in 4 years (77.75/year). The M’s are a young team, with tons of potential, but potential won’t turn into wins unless the team backfills at least some of the loss of games/plate appearances with guys who’ve “been there”.

Jaso is a more productive run producer, but if you take away his solid 2012 season numbers, where his wRC+ was an outstanding 143, his remaining average wRC+ comes to 100 (the league average, and only for the 2011 and 2010 years).

As far as I’m concerned, Jaso’s 2012 numbers skew his real value in producing runs, especially considering his limited playing time. Now, it’s a risk to ask Jaso to play more and revert closer to the league’s run production average, and maybe Jack Z’s plan is to find out. But after one peak year, I’m not entirely sold.

In any case, since the M’s need more run production, any upgrade is worth the risk. Either play Jaso more in the DH/catcher/OF platoon rotation, or move him to a team that saw 2012’s high water mark as a good risk.